


Need your fire against my skin

by theArchduchess



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: F/F, Lorca is mentioned ... 3 times? bc both ladies have trust issues bc of him, fun times, idk what happened in between, this was supposed to be a short scene and now its not, very much influenced by the novel die standing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:35:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27662117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theArchduchess/pseuds/theArchduchess
Summary: Most of the time Katrina Cornwell is a capable and respected admiral but there is one person seemingly determined to challenge that and rather successfully so. It does help that she wears the face of the admiral's friend and that she is starting to awaken feelings in her that she cannot ignore.
Relationships: Katrina Cornwell/Mirror Philippa Georgiou
Kudos: 16





	1. Old friends

**Author's Note:**

> I seem to like the idea of people being confronted with the mirror counterparts of their loved ones and see how much that messes with ther feelings hmmm.... anyway there's not enough Katrina/Philippa content around so I tried.

There was nothing more dangerous than a bored Terran. Admiral Cornwell had learnt that rather quickly. After all, she was forced to entertain one at the moment. Well, technically it was supposed to be Leland’s job but considering he had managed to let the woman escape several times only to rely on Cornwell’s help to catch her again she might as well be directly responsible for her.

Emperor Georgiou – no, _agent_ Georgiou now, had proven over and over again that she disliked having to follow other people’s rules. No matter how important those rules were. She wasn’t one to follow anyone else. In her world she made the rules herself and the arrogance that came with such a position was still very present in her daily behaviour. It could be infuriating at times. Cornwell wanted to say there was nothing likeable about her at all and that she was utterly unbiased when it came to dealing with the dethroned emperor but as much as she tried to deny it there was one thing about her that she couldn’t possibly ignore:

_It was still Philippa._

As twisted as this version of her was, no matter how angry and violent she acted compared to her counterpart, Cornwell could recognise her old friend in the woman sitting in front of her at times. The way she smiled when she was genuinely amused, the spark in her eyes when she talked about something that interested her … it was all very familiar to Cornwell, too familiar and as much as she hated it there was another issue she had with the woman as well: This Philippa was very much willing to attempt to charm and flirt her way out of trouble, seemingly convinced everyone would fall for it eventually if she only tried hard enough.

She wasn’t the only Terran who had tried this with her. _Gabriel_ however, to her shame, had been far more successful and only because she had not suspected anything had been wrong about his flirting attempt at the time. They had been friends for years, at times more, never quite managing to make things work but always coming back to each other in the end. To think that this other man had abused that relationship between them, that Georgiou might be trying to do the same thing at the moment … it made her sick.

Things were a bit different with Georgiou of course. She knew the other was Terran, an imposter, not really her old friend. She had also never seen her Philippa Georgiou as more than a friend and she refused to consider this could change now. This Georgiou was more direct, more daring in her approach but Cornwell was also aware she was likely just plotting her next escape, trying to pull an admiral on her side, play her and Leland out against each other so they wouldn’t notice when she tried to get away. There was nothing behind this but a plan the Terran was secretly forging in the dark to get back home, or attempt to seize power in this universe. Whatever she had in mind for her future it couldn’t be good for anyone but herself.

But as much as she tried to pretend Georgiou’s advances had no effect on her it was hard to ignore the fact the woman was objectively attractive, especially when she did everything to make herself look good in front of her despite hiding behind layers of black leather. She had access to the late captain’s logs and personal correspondences, she could likely guess Katrina and Philippa had been close friends. Perhaps she expected she could tip that bond of friendship into something more if she simply pushed hard enough.

Simply put, Georgiou knew too much and Cornwell was aware she should likely step away from the situation entirely, hand Georgiou over to someone else but she simply didn’t trust anyone enough to agree to such a thing. Admiral Patar had been trying to get her hands on the case previously, deeply connected with section 31 and clearly a sympathiser for Leland’s cause of using Georgiou’s abilities and knowledge for their advantage even if it meant giving the woman far too much freedom and risking another escape attempt.

She respected Patar on a professional basis but that didn’t mean she had to agree with every decision the woman wanted to make. Letting Georgiou lose on an unsuspecting universe, giving her access to more of section 31’s technology … it would be a mistake in her eyes. Too much of a risk for someone they couldn’t trust. But she also had no idea what else they were supposed to do with the woman. Locking her up might work for a while but that was not the result she wanted from this. Perhaps it was her attachment to her former friend that made her try and refuse to give up on Georgiou entirely but she couldn’t simply turn her back on her. She wanted the other to do better, to learn to live in this universe and leave her anger behind her. She doubted she would have success with that but she couldn’t give up now, not when it seemed like she was only person Georgiou willingly talked to at all.

Leland had attempted to get information out of her, teach her to be an agent and all he had gotten from her in return was mockery and bickering. So far he had not gotten a single serious reply out of her. She simply did not respect him. Cornwell on the other hand had managed to at least get a few vague comments out of her. She had mentioned Lorca once, when she had been in a rare talkative mood, talked about how they had conquered a colony on Elus prime together and how she would have killed him right there had she known about his future betrayal. She was obviously bitter despite trying to look like nothing could ever bring her down most of the time. Cornwell wasn’t sure how to help her, if she could help her at all and even though she managed to get a few stories out of her every now and then, Georgiou largely remained a mystery to the admiral. On one side there were parts she recognised but it always felt like she was missing half of the picture. It intrigued and scared her at the same time.

There was one topic Georgiou mentioned more than once: Cornwell herself.

Cornwell wasn’t sure she wanted to know about this other version of herself but every word Georgiou said about the matter was better than her usual stubborn silence or mocking. She had to take what she could in this situation if she wanted the other to open up. Georgiou mentioned she had known this woman well, that this other Cornwell had worked for Alexander, her cousin. An incredibly stupid man. Georgiou also explained she would have loved to dispose of him had she had the chance to do so. The other Cornwell had kept an eye on him for her, reporting back to her if he ever dropped any useful information around her and while Georgiou didn’t explicitly say it she certainly implied this other Cornwell had done more for her than just deliver information. The admiral nearly asked her to clarify her statement to be sure she had the right idea about this before catching herself and simply nodding in response.

Most of their meetings went like this, with Georgiou dropping hints about connections she had had in her universe and Cornwell having to decide if she wanted to hear more or not. She could guess that the mentions of the other Cornwell were meant to spark her curiosity or at least rile her up a little bit and yet she kept allowing Georgiou to dive deeper into the topic in hopes of learning something useful. The more Georgiou talked, the more often they met up like this the more Cornwell caught herself in a pondering silence, wondering if Georgiou had cared about this other Cornwell, if any of her stories were even true or not and it didn’t take too long until Georgiou started to notice she was drifting off at times.

“You haven’t said a word in quite a while, admiral. Are you perhaps getting distracted?” Cornwell didn’t have to look up from her PADD to know her opponent was offering her a near devilish grin with that question. Georgiou had found something she could attack the woman on and that meant she was in trouble now.

“No, I’m simply busy with other things as well. You’re not exactly being helpful lately.” _Lately_ , as if Georgiou had ever been helpful for them. All she did was pester Leland whenever possible to the point that she was pulling the strings at times, predicting how Leland would react and how she could rile him up so he would make mistakes that allowed her to get away with other things in the background. Another reason why she was now sitting at Cornwell’s desk and no longer on Leland’s ship at least temporarily. Until Georgiou was assigned to her next mission, this was easier. Though she certainly tried to make it more complicated whenever she could.

They had removed her restraints a short while ago, trying to offer her the smallest bit of trust when she hadn’t made another attempt to run off in the last weeks. Cornwell almost regretted it the moment the woman used her newly gained freedom to sit down on the side of the desk, directly next to her and obviously trying to get her attention.

“You know I believe you’ve never done anything but work while talking to me.” She leaned in a bit closer. “I never get your undivided attention. Don’t you think that’s a bit rude? I’m your guest after all!” She put her hand on the woman’s PADD, preventing her from continuing to write her latest report. Cornwell forced herself to not look up to her. “Surely you’re aware there’s cameras in this room. You do anything stupid and security will knock you out before you can even try to kill me.” At that Georgiou rolled her eyes and crossed her arms almost as if disappointed by the woman’s assumption about her intentions.

“Oh you think so badly of me! Who said I wanted to kill you? I was just making conversation!”  
“Just a feeling I had after you tried to run away ... three times before?”  
Georgiou scoffed, obviously offended at the admiral’s accusation. “Oh I didn’t run away. Leland just didn’t give me enough to do. I got bored.” She leaned in closer once more, moving Cornwell’s PADD out of her reach to force her to look up at her, dropping her voice a whisper. “And surely you’re not just here to scold me, are you? Because if that was all you wanted I wouldn’t still be here. You could have sent me back to Leland already but you _didn’t._ ”

She was forcing Cornwell to put her cards on the table and she hated that the woman was far too good at making sure they would play after her rules and not Starfleet’s. Always one step ahead of them because they wanted something from her and that gave her enough power to call the shots when she wanted to. It might not be enough to buy her her freedom but she certainly tried to get the best possible advantage out of it. Terrans never settled for anything less than the best.

Cornwell looked at her for a moment, trying to decide what she was going to do before sighing and raising her hands in defeat. “You want me to be direct? Fine! I’m sure you’re already aware of this but we want your knowledge. You’ve seen more of the universe than every single Starfleet officer here. We could use that knowledge to protect the Federation.” She stood up to try and reach for her PADD once more, certain that this dispute was settled now, but Georgiou was quick to position herself between the admiral and the device, going as far as to putting her hands on the woman’s arms to prevent her from trying to reach around her. “Oh I’m not letting you go that easily. There’s more to this and we both know it.”, she stated, refusing to back down even a little bit.

At first Cornwell wanted to dismiss the woman’s suggestion, simply shrug it off and claim she was being ridiculous but Georgiou was right and she certainly knew it. There was more to this than the admiral wanted to admit and it was obviously impossible to hide it from the Terran. She wasn’t entirely sure where she stood at the moment, knowing she wanted to try offer her hand to Georgiou, give her the chance to do better but also knowing it was getting more complicated than that. Georgiou was far too good at getting under her skin. She knew things she wasn’t supposed to know and with her face it was far too easy for Cornwell to simply listen and nod at everything she said. The closer she got to coax the truth out of her the better she got at making her slip up.

Her hesitation already seemed to be enough confirmation for Georgiou, who didn’t even attempt to hide the triumphant grin on her face as she leaned back on the table, all too satisfied with herself. She knew the answer to her question, if Cornwell said anything or not. At this point she could deny it all she wanted to but the Terran woman was far more successful in charming her than she was willing to admit and she was very well aware of it.


	2. Escalation

The situation with Georgiou was getting more out of hand every day and it was starting to become obvious to others as well. Cornwell had noticed the gossip that was quietly being spread among her colleagues despite trying her best to tune it out. There was no truth to these rumours of course. She was a respectable admiral. She took her job seriously. Though she couldn’t clear herself entirely of any bad behaviour either. Georgiou was getting more direct and the admiral didn’t exactly stop her, which the woman only took as further encouragement, getting more daring every day. Cornwell wasn’t sure where it was all supposed to lead, how far Georgiou would have to go until she’d turn her down once and for all … ~~ _if she’d turn her down at all._~~

She had to do better. She was aware of that but it was so easy to pretend — Georgiou _made_ it easy to pretend that this was fine, that the development between was good. Deep down she knew that was precisely the effect the former emperor was hoping to have on her but whenever she tried to remind herself of that when she was actually talking to the woman it suddenly became rather difficult to care about that.

“You really over think everything don’t you?”

Of course Cornwell was aware what the woman was suggesting and once again she wasn’t exactly wrong about her assumption but she didn’t want to simply admit that. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, trying to think of a good response to Georgiou’s question before her silence could once again give the other the answer she was looking for. “I just know what’s appropriate and what not.” Georgiou simply rolled her eyes in return. “Oh you poor people with your boring morals. What would be so bad about having fun?” She shook her head in exaggerated disappointment.

“You’re technically still our prisoner after your last escape attempt for a start.” Georgiou wanted to say something in return but Cornwell simply continued: “And Philippa was a good friend. I’m not letting you taint her image like that.” The mention of the _other_ Philippa seemed to outright offend Georgiou and the admiral regretted bringing her up at all as the other woman stood up so abruptly that her chair tipped over behind her, causing Cornwell to nearly reach out to the console in front of her to call for security.

“Don’t compare me to her.”

No matter how much Georgiou had flirted with her previously, if she had upset the woman enough there was a good chance she’d turn violent and if that true then there would be no reasoning with her. A former emperor, dethroned or not, would listen to no one if she was upset. Though as alarmed as Cornwell was she didn’t want to call for help without a good reason to do so, not when she knew it would likely end with Georgiou spending time in the brig again, something that would only worsen her mood. She wanted to try and de-escalate the situation on her own if possible. Philippa was still her friend, other universe or not, she owed her this.

Georgiou moved around the table, never taking her eyes of Cornwell as she drew closer to her. Cornwell’s worry rose the closer she got but when she finally stopped directly next to the admiral, turning her chair around so the woman had to face her all she did was lean down and say: “Don’t play games with me, Kat.”

 _Kat_. That was new. She had never called her that before. Previously she had addressed her as admiral, even if sometimes mockingly so but never by her name or even a nickname. It seemed far too intimate suddenly. Cornwell knew she should probably back out of this while she could still get away with it, if she could get away with it at all and yet … despite the fact Georgiou was very much invading her space, arms draped around her neck, face close enough to her own she could feel the woman’s breath on her face … she didn’t push her away or tried to get up.

_Don’t play games with me, Kat._

She wanted to claim Georgiou was the one playing games here but she wasn’t turning the woman down either so if anything she couldn’t shift the blame because was willingly playing along. She wanted the other to do something because she didn’t dare make that move herself and perhaps Georgiou knew that because when Cornwell didn’t protest she closed that last bit of distance between them and kissed her.

Cornwell was ashamed to admit she had been wanting to do this for a while, that she had been wondering what the woman’s lips would taste like once she finally got to kiss her but right now the shame was temporarily pushed aside and easily forgotten about. She had other things to concentrate on with Georgiou’s hand in her hair and her lips on hers. She wasn’t as rough or demanding about it as Cornwell had expected her to be. There was nearly a tenderness to her touch, something she would have never associated with the former emperor if she wouldn’t be experiencing it right now.

As if remembering they weren’t exactly in a private space, she suddenly hesitated, gently but firmly pushing Georgiou away, cheeks burning red and unable to look at the woman. “We shouldn’t have done that.”, she declared, trying to turn her chair back towards the table and hopefully get out of whatever this was before it could escalate further but Georgiou wouldn’t let her.

Tilting her head to the side in an almost confused manner she asked: “Why not? You _liked_ that.” Cornwell wanted to protest but Georgiou simply put her hand up to silence her and continued: “Don’t deny it I know you did. No use in trying to lie to me, Katrina.” Of course Georgiou wanted to be right and refused understand her see it from her perspective. This was the exact reason she should have stopped this far sooner.

_Damn it, Katrina, get it together._

“It’s not that easy, Philippa.”  
As expected Georgiou didn’t seem convinced by that statement. She might not have said anything in response but her frustration with the situation was obvious. As if to make a point about how annoyed she was with that answer she stepped away, sitting back down in her own chair just to put her feet up on the table and pretend to be looking at her hand as if nothing had happened, only looking up at the other woman once with raised eyebrows as if to ask: Is this really how you want to handle this? To which Cornwell had no good answer, eventually deciding to get up and leave, defeated, instead of sitting there in awkward silence while Georgiou was clearly upset with her. This was getting too complicated. She needed to stop falling for the woman’s tricks. She had to turn her down.

 _It is better this way,_ Cornwell tried to tell herself. _She is nothing but trouble. She is_ not _Philippa._

Son after their disastrous last conversation Georgiou was called back for a new mission, something that Leland insisted demanded her attention. For once Cornwell didn’t protest and simply let the woman go. As relieved as she was to be rid of her at first she soon realised she was also starting to miss the Terran. A strange realisation. One of her kind had nearly killed her and then nearly gotten her killed and yet … while Georgiou certainly seemed to possess what Cornwell had assume was rather typical Terran fury she was different from Gabriel in a way the admiral couldn’t quite put into words. She didn’t want to say she took pity on the woman. She had lost an empire, a daughter but pity was not the right word. Georgiou had been given a second chance, one that she seemed at least more eager to accept than the other Gabriel had been and it made Cornwell want to believe she could do better with the right guidance.

Not that she really had another choice considering they didn’t know how to send her back home and there was nothing but certain death waiting for her on the other side but it still had to count for something that she didn’t simply sit around doing nothing now. It wasn’t an ideal partnership considering Georgiou had decided to ditch them several times but there was a part of Cornwell who couldn’t even blame her for those attempts to regain her freedom. Georgiou viewed herself as caged in the Federation, held back by rules that she didn’t believe in and with the mindset of a Terran who was raised to believe that she could fight her way out of every situation while not being able to trust anyone around her. It seemed only natural for her to react in such a way.

Maybe Cornwell was wasting time trying to analyse Georgiou’s actions so deeply when it seemed so clear the woman would never work with her like that. She wanted her fun and nothing else. Cornwell could try interpret more into it all she wanted to but it was still horribly simple in the end: Georgiou would stop at nothing to get what she wanted and what she wanted was to get her hands on Cornwell, a thought that should have frightened her but instead only fuelled the thoughts in the back of her mind that crept up whenever Georgiou got too close.


	3. Selfishness

It took three weeks for their paths to cross again. She had walked into a meeting room in a hurry, only aware that Leland was visiting again to try talk her into signing off another ridiculous mission and she was prepared to tell him once again to back off until they specifically requested Section 31’s help but by the time she walked through the door, before she could even say a single word her eyes were drawn to the person sitting next to Leland.

Leaned back in her chair, dressed up as always and seemingly bored, sat Georgiou, acting as if she hadn’t even noticed the woman’s entrance at all and Cornwell’s surprise at seeing the other again managed to stun her into silence for a moment. She caught herself quickly enough for Leland to simply move on to his usual apology and attempt to convince her to agree with him but Georgiou had certainly taken notice of her reaction. Though she had remained silent. That was until Cornwell asked Leland why she was here at all.

“I’m happy to see you too, admiral.”, Georgiou answered before Leland had a chance to say anything on her behalf. “I imagine you missed me?” Her pointed question was followed by a wide smile, one Cornwell wasn’t sure she would categorise either as mocking or threatening. Neither seemed to bode well. Leland looked back and forth between them for a moment when Cornwell didn’t sit down immediately and instead remained where she was, arms crossed, obviously tense.

“Did I miss something happening between you two?” When he looked back at Georgiou she simply shrugged and gestured towards Cornwell, who was quick to shake her head. “Just the usual things she gets up to. Nothing of interest.” As always, Georgiou took offence at her words. “The usual things? Nothing of interest? Here I thought I was so interesting to Starfleet they needed me on their side and now you call me _boring?_ Oh admiral, I’m hurt.”

The sudden beep of Leland’s combadge cut their impromptu dispute short before it could really begin and Leland was quick to get up and leave while muttering something about how important this call might be, although not before turning around once more to tell both Georgiou and Cornwell to “put whatever had happened between them behind them for their mutual benefit.” to which Cornwell simply closed the door on him without saying another word.

“Finally some peace!”, Georgiou exclaimed, dramatically stretching her arms over her head as if she had been sitting in the same chair for hours. “He’s been talking the entire time while we were on the way to meet up with you. It was horrendous. I’ve had a lot of terrible company as emperor and yet somehow he’s the worst. Not even Gabriel loved to hear himself talk _that_ much and that’s saying something.” She leaned forward, arms placed on the table and looking at Cornwell as if she expected her to say something.  
  
“So?”  
“So what?”

Georgiou let out a long and exaggerated sigh. “Are we going to talk about what happened or not?” When Cornwell didn’t respond Georgiou gestured towards the chair in front of the woman. “Don’t tell me you won’t even sit at the same table as me anymore?” Cornwell had to admit it was maybe getting a bit ridiculous at this point. The least she could do was sit down and try her best to be civil about this no matter how embarrassing the entire situation was for her.

“You didn’t tell Leland, did you?”  
“Obviously not! I mean look at him! He seems to believe I tried to kill you or something. He’d never guess we kissed. Stuff like that’s beyond him.” She didn’t seem concerned about the matter at all, happily joking about it as if nothing bad had happened.

“Listen that kiss … it was a mistake. A big one.” She knew Georgiou would disagree but she tried to make her point anyway. “I’m an admiral, you’re a captain, a section 31 agent and Terran. All of that means trouble for me and you know that.” While Georgiou remained seated for now, keeping her distance for once, she certainly wasn’t ready to accept to end the conversation like this. “And I say you worry too much. I just kissed you I didn’t ask you to marry me and just for the record I don’t do romance anyway.” That was nothing new to Cornwell. She had been able to guess that a proper relationship was likely not what the woman was looking for when she had made her advances and yet she still asked a lot more of her than she seemed to realise.

“The problem is not casual sex, it really isn’t! The problem is that you’re _her_ and I cant trust you!” If she continued to raise her voice like this there was a good chance Leland would hear her outside but she had to finally say what had been on her mind for a while and this seemed to be the only way she knew how. “You’re an unpredictable risk, Philippa and I have a responsibility to protect Starfleet and the Federation from you.”

“You keep saying things like that and yet you also keep betraying your own words by calling me Philippa. Not captain, not agent not even emperor. You only say _Philippa_ and you can tell me it’s because of her all you want but it’s more than that by now. You like me. Not her, _me_.” She was obviously convinced she was right, crossing her arms in front of her chest and practically daring the woman to argue her point if she _could_.

“You know nothing about me.”, Cornwell spat back after a long silence. Getting angry wouldn’t fix this mess, she knew that but it was hard to remain collected when Georgiou was confronting her with something she would rather ignore. “Oh I don’t? Well guess being able to predict you wanted to kiss me badly was just luck on my side then?”

She stood up slowly, raising her arms in a gesture that seemed to say ‘ _Got_ _no_ _good response_ _to that,_ _do you_ _?_ ’ as she stepped closer. “Don’t.”, Cornwell replied harshly, getting up as well to face her, use the fact that she was taller than the woman to at least be able to pretend that Georgiou’s attempts to analyse her didn’t have the desired effect on her, that she wasn’t aware of how right the other’s words were and that she wasn’t thinking about agreeing with her, her façade crumbling under the pressure Georgiou was putting her under. All she achieved with this however was allowing Georgiou to corner her, something she only realised when her back hit the wall behind her.

_She’s far too good at this._

“I might not know you as much as I knew my Katrina but I see the similarities and I know all the little signs that betray you when you try to lie to me.” She reached up to place her hand on Cornwell’s cheek, a gesture so soft it almost seemed wrong coming from her right in this moment. “And you know what’s the most obvious sign that you want this?”, she murmured, stealing a glance at the woman’s lips and smiling. “Not even once did you attempt to call for security. If you truly felt threatened by me rather than intrigued you would have done something about it but you _didn’t_.”

And this time she pulled Cornwell in for a kiss with more force and the admiral let her because she was right. Her traitorous mind was far too willing to admit Georgiou had guessed correctly and she _did_ want this and she _did_ lie about it, trying to pretend she was better than this but she wasn’t. She wanted Philippa, no matter how much she tried to deny it.

_To hell with it._

This time she didn’t push Georgiou away, far too eager to pull her closer, one hand coming to rest on her hips the other on the back of her neck. If the woman had anything clever to say about the admiral’s sudden willingness she didn’t reveal it yet, or wasn’t willing to stop long enough in between kisses just to have the last word once and for all. Cornwell wouldn’t put it past her to be petty enough for something like that if she was honest. Not that she cared much right now with the woman’s hand travelling down her side as she moved to work on the admiral’s neck instead.

It was all happening so fast Cornwell felt a bit breathless. “What about-” she gasped as Georgiou licked at the skin beneath her ear without a warning, feeling the woman’s lips curl into a smile as she pressed them against her neck once more. “What about Leland?”, she finally managed to spit out. “He could come back any second.” Georgiou didn’t seem alarmed at all, to the point where Cornwell had to repeat her question before the woman even bothered to pause her work for a moment in order to reply. “What about him? Scared he’ll tell Starfleet command you’re getting handsy with a Terran?” She chuckled, fingers tracing the golden lines at the side of Cornwell’s uniform, something that made the woman shiver slightly.

“This isn’t exactly an ideal situation.”  
“Oh nothing that involves me would be an ideal situation for Starfleet. Who cares? I certainly don’t.” She reached for the fastener at the collar of Cornwell’s uniform before stopping suddenly. “Don’t tell me there’s some regulation against this? _Starfleet admirals are not_ _permitted_ _to participate in intercourse with other officers_. Actually — I can see that. Of course you people would ban fun like that.” She might have gone on about the topic if it hadn’t been for Cornwell’s disapproving look. “Well if you’re so worried about them discovering us maybe we should continue this at your place later. I can be patient if I want to be and Leland won’t hear a word about it. _Promise_.” As if to prove she was capable of what she promised she stepped away, although not without giving the admiral a playful wink as she sat back down in her chair, acting all so innocently despite Cornwell now being more aware than ever that she was the opposite of chaste.

Maybe she shouldn’t be so surprised about this. Her Philippa had never exactly been the shy type either. She might have been more tactful about it but Georgiou’s boldness was a trait both seemed to share to a degree.

She cleared her throat, adjusting her uniform before sitting down again as well. For a brief moment she wondered if Leland would be able to tell something had happened while he had been away, her fingers running over the spot on her neck that she had felt Georgiou’s lips against only moments before, a subconscious gesture that drew a chuckle from the Terran at the other side of the table. She should have been worried about this earlier, hell, she should have turned the woman down from the start, told her to back off for good and yet she had agreed to keep this … strange arrangement up for a while longer albeit in secret. There was no way to tell if Georgiou would honour her promise and keep her mouth shut about the situation. Starfleet command would be furious if they heard even a word about this. She was risking serious consequences should anyone with the right knowledge about Georgiou find out about the situation.

Maybe she didn’t want to care about the consequences for once. She had given Starfleet everything. Her work had always come first no matter what. She had given up on romance for Starfleet. Maybe it was time she was selfish for once and who better to indulge her in such a whim than the former Terran emperor who seemed so determined to seduce her?

Leland returned far quicker than Cornwell expected him to, something that made her incredibly thankful for having had enough self control left to try and persuade Georgiou to continue their little escapade at a later time instead of right now in the meeting room with the risk of Leland walking in on them any second. She might be making terrible choices at the moment but at least she hadn’t completely lost her decency yet although she was sure Georgiou would be interested in testing out how far she could push _that_ line and as she kept stealing glances at the other woman as Leland continued to announce his ridiculous plans she found that maybe she wouldn’t mind that too much.


End file.
